So, not too long ago, Apple took down their site to update the color of the top bar and add some animations. Seen here.
What wasn't clear was why. I can understand them adding animations, but why change the color of your menu bar that was perfectly fine all of those years?
While I was browsing the website today, I was reminded of how the tint vaguely reminds me of some liquid metal thumb drives I'd seen before. (keep in mind that it isn't one set color, I've seen a variety of tints to liquid metal products)
Why is this even vaguely relevant? Well, back in the summer of last year, Apple bought exclusive rights to liquid metals amorphous metal alloy for use in consumer electronics.
Apple buys out liquidmetal patents
I then realized that the previous menu bar is vaguely similar to the anodized aluminum that we see in MBPs, the iPad, Mac Pro, etc. So, if apple were to go with a sweeping materials change in their product line, making the website coloring match their products would make sense.
What I've not been able to find out is how the thermal dissipation and weight of liquid metal compare to aluminum in an effort to determine if it makes sense to make an entire casing out of the material. What I do know is that it has been used for housings in smaller electronics (like thumb drives), and in some cases, antennas for wireless dongles. That makes it a potential candidate for the iPhone 5 in that regard. I also personally prefer the smokey gun metal look and would like to see it in apple products.
/tinfoilhat
What wasn't clear was why. I can understand them adding animations, but why change the color of your menu bar that was perfectly fine all of those years?
While I was browsing the website today, I was reminded of how the tint vaguely reminds me of some liquid metal thumb drives I'd seen before. (keep in mind that it isn't one set color, I've seen a variety of tints to liquid metal products)
Why is this even vaguely relevant? Well, back in the summer of last year, Apple bought exclusive rights to liquid metals amorphous metal alloy for use in consumer electronics.
Apple buys out liquidmetal patents
I then realized that the previous menu bar is vaguely similar to the anodized aluminum that we see in MBPs, the iPad, Mac Pro, etc. So, if apple were to go with a sweeping materials change in their product line, making the website coloring match their products would make sense.
What I've not been able to find out is how the thermal dissipation and weight of liquid metal compare to aluminum in an effort to determine if it makes sense to make an entire casing out of the material. What I do know is that it has been used for housings in smaller electronics (like thumb drives), and in some cases, antennas for wireless dongles. That makes it a potential candidate for the iPhone 5 in that regard. I also personally prefer the smokey gun metal look and would like to see it in apple products.
/tinfoilhat
